Pain Management - Information for Health Professionals

Our services/clinics

Assessments

Multidisciplinary pain clinic

Patient will see the pain medicine physician, physiotherapist and psychologist who will then discuss and make recommendations on the best options for managing pain.

Pain medicine physician clinic

Patient will be assessed by the doctor, with further referral to the Multidisciplinary team if necessary.

Geriatric Pain Clinic

Patient will be assessed in a specialised clinic for the older person with pain and multiple comorbidities which can address their complex medical issues and provide a multidisciplinary focus.

Subacute clinic

Patients are assessed by a pain medicine physician for treatment early in the patient’s medical or surgical condition. The clinic aims to reduce the risk of long term pain with its associated multidimensional comorbidities. We also endeavour to reduce the risk of polypharmacy and development of drug dependence.

If needed, patients may be referred to be assessed by our psychiatrist, addiction medicine specialist, social worker or occupational therapist.

Treatments

Following a comprehensive assessment by our team, patients could be offered any of the following:

Pharmacological management of pain with analgesics and adjuvants.
Regular land-based group exercise program
Pain Physiotherapy strategies to help patients find more comfortable ways to move and use their body
Psychological pain management strategies such as cognitive-behavioural therapy, relaxation techniques and pain education
Pain Management Program - Conducted in an individual or group setting using a combination of cognitive behavioural therapy, mindfulness and physical activation
Occupational therapy program involving support for work-related issues, functional assessment and pacing of activities
Mindfulness meditation in a group setting
Social work interventions and counselling.

A wide range of interventional management strategies are used to clarify the cause and manage pain including:

Diagnostic nerve blocks
Diagnostic infusions for the evaluation of pain
Therapeutic nerve blocks including radiofrequency neurotomy and neurolytic blocks
Intraspinal infusions of analgesics
Neuromodulation techniques including transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), transmagnetic stimulation (TMS), epidural spinal cord stimulation, dorsal root ganglion stimulation and intraspinal analgesic infusion
Implantation of intrathecal baclofen pumps for the management of intractable spasticity.

We also conduct inpatient consultations for patients with severe pre-existing or uncontrolled pain or if requested by other specialist teams.

Our clinics

Our clinics are all located in the Prince of Wales Hospital Adult Outpatient Department, Campus Centre Building, Prince of Wales Hospital (building 16 on our campus map). See also information about how to get to our Randwick campus.

Clinic Name	Clinic Day	Clinic Time
Multidisciplinary Pain Clinic	Wednesday	8.30am-12.30pm
A/Prof Kok Eng Khor	Tuesday Alternate Friday	1.30pm-5.00pm 8.30am-12.00pm
Dr Chimene Bhar	Tuesday Alternate Wednesday	1.30pm-5.00pm 1.30pm-5.00pm
Dr Teik Tay	Tuesday Alternate Wednesday (subacute clinic)	1.30pm-5.00pm 8.30am-12.00pm
Dr David Gorman	Friday Alternate Monday & Wednesday	8.30am-12.00pm 2.00pm-5.00pm
Dr Sachin Shetty	Alternate Wednesday	2.30pm-4.00pm
Dr Benjamin Teo	Alternate Tuesday Alternate Friday	1.30pm-5.00pm 8.30am-12.00pm
Dr Candice Wallman	Friday	8.30am-12.00pm
Dr Swapnil Sharma	Wednesday Alternate Friday	8.30am-5.00pm 1.30pm-3.00pm
A/Prof Apo Demirkol	Alternate Wednesday	8.30am-12.00pm
Rural and remote telehealth clinic	Once a month	2.00pm-4.00pm
Tony Hollins	Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday	9.00am-4.00pm
Skye Sadokierski	Monday to Thursday	Varying times
Josephine Wan	Monday, Tuesday Wednesday	1.00pm-5.00pm 8.30am-5.00pm
Gillian Carr	Wednesday Friday	8.30am-5.00pm 8.00am-4.30pm
Nurse Clinic	Monday	9.00am-12.30pm

Our specialist team

Clinic consultants

Full Name	Position Title and/or Subspecialty
A/Prof Kok-Eng Khor	Senior Staff Specialist; Pain Medicine and Anaesthesia
Dr Chimene Bhar	Senior Staff Specialist; Anaesthesia
Dr Teik Tay	Senior Staff Specialist; Pain Medicine and Anaesthesia
Dr David Gorman	Senior Staff Specialist; Pain; Palliative Care and Internal Medicine
Dr Sachin Shetty	Senior Staff Specialist; Pain and Rehabilitation Medicine
Dr Benjamin Teo	Staff Specialist; Pain and Geriatrics Medicine
Dr Candice Wallman	Staff Specialist; Pain and Rehabilitation Medicine
Dr Swapnil Sharma	Senior Staff Specialist; Psychiatry
A/Prof Apo Demirkol	Senior Staff Specialist; Addiction Medicine

Other Health Professionals within the Clinic

Full Name	Subspecialty
Tony Hollins	Clinical Psychologist
Skye Sadokierski	APA Titled Pain Physiotherapist
Josephine Wan	Clinical Psychologist
Gillian Carr	Physiotherapist

Referral criteria

Inclusion criteria

Conditions treated and/or accepted diagnoses (including severity)

Any form of chronic pain that interferes with the patient’s functional status and quality of life.
Pain in the subacute phase where there are issues with high level of analgesic use e.g. opioids, patient distress and there is a risk of progressing to chronic pain.
Patients with intractable cancer pain where interventional strategies are considered in the context of ongoing oncological and palliative care.

Additional patient demographics (e.g. age range, catchment area)

Age over 18.
Appointment preference will be given to patients who residue within the South Eastern Sydney Local Health District. Please refer to the Pain Australia website to access a national pain service directory.

Urgent vs. non-urgent referrals

Urgent referrals include cancer pain, suspected complex regional pain syndrome or post herpetic neuralgia.

Exclusion criteria

Interstate referrals will not be accepted. Please refer to the Pain Australia website to access a national pain service directory.

How to refer your patients

Prince of Wales Hospital Outpatient Department is using electronic referrals. eReferrals are electronic SmartForms that can be sent directly to the hospital facility from your practice system or the MyHealthLink Portal. An eReferral is an electronic document that can be sent securely, replacing other methods such as faxing or posting paper referrals. The above solutions enable referrals to be sent, received, and managed electronically. Referrers and patients will also receive notification of referral outcomes.

If your patient is eligible for treatment, please read this information on how to submit your referral.

Private referrals (bulk-billed through Medicare)

All patients have the right to choose to be treated as a public or private patient for outpatient attendances. If your patient chooses to be treated privately and bulk-billed through Medicare, your referral must meet the following criteria:

You must address the referral to one Consultant from our Specialist team, not the hospital, clinic, outpatient department or JMO
You must sign and date the referral, and include your provider number and practice address
You must state the period of referral in months, or refer “indefinitely”
You must provide this referral on or prior to the appointment date.

Please note that it is also inappropriate for our Administration team to recommend a Consultant for your patient. We have listed the names and specialties of our Consultants above to help you decide on the most appropriate practitioner.

Urgent referrals

If your patient needs to be seen urgently, please call the Prince of Wales Hospital switchboard on (02) 9382 2222 and ask to speak with the Pain Fellow.

Who will contact your patient to schedule an appointment?

Once the eReferral has been received and accepted, a notification will be sent to the referrer and patient. A questionnaire will be emailed or sent to your patient via post. After we receive the completed questionnaire, the eReferral and questionnaire will be triaged. Appointment details will be provided via letter to the patient and GP. Patients will receive an SMS reminder 3 days before their appointment. If an appointment cannot be made, we will send the patients a letter confirming that they are on the outpatient waiting list for the next available appointment.

Who can you contact to follow up on a referral?

You may contact the Pain Management Secretary on (02) 9382 2863 to follow up on a referral.

What is the process if a patient misses or cancels their appointment?

If your patient needs to change or cancel their appointment they should phone (02) 9382 0400.

If a new patient appointment is missed or cancelled (and not rebooked), we will send a letter to GP. If a follow-up appointment is missed or cancelled, we will send your patient a letter.

Costs for patients and rebates

A GP referral is needed for billings to Medicare service.